Classmates not surprised

Natalie O'Brien

BY ALL accounts, Adam Lanza was a shy, quiet boy who didn't like to draw attention to himself.

He did not have a Facebook page like his elder brother, 24-year-old Ryan. There was barely a mention of him - save an honours roll list - on the internet before Friday.

But when former classmates, friends and neighbours heard that the 20-year-old was the suspected gunman, many said they were not surprised.

Adam, who has been described by Ryan as having a personality disorder, graduated in 2010 but it is unclear if he had found a job or was unemployed.

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Adam lived in an upscale part of Newtown with his mother, after she was divorced from his father, Peter, in 2009. Peter was reportedly a vice-president at GE Capital and had also been a partner at Ernst & Young.

It is understood Adam did not have any previous criminal history and the three guns he used in the shooting were legally registered to his mother.

Interviews with former classmates in The New York Times described Adam as intelligent but nervous and fidgety.

Acquaintances took to social media to remember Adam's mother, Nancy, who was one of his victims, and how she had retired from kindergarten teaching about three years ago to look after him. The memories were of a kind, house-proud mother.

Neighbour Beth Israel tweeted: ''My daughter went to school w/adam lanza. We lived 6 houses away. He was troubled for sure for a long time. RIP Nancy.''

One neighbour, Tim Dalton, said Adam ''has been a weird kid since we were five years old. As horrible as this was, I can't say I am surprised … Burn in hell, Adam.''

His brother, Ryan, who was initially mistakenly identified as the shooter, was at work at his job as an accountant with Ernst & Young, according to reports, when he heard the news about the killings.